I'll Make It, Promise
by Da Buffster
Summary: He sits alone, no friends. No family. He's searching. But it's not just the question that pushed him there...
1. He'll Hunt Me Down

**I'll Make It, Promise.**

**Disclaimer: **My least fav part. Don't own it, not now, not ever. I'll never have more than the minus £5 I have now probably. That's also a notice to thieves. I have minus £5. Don't rob me, I ain't worth it.

**Author:** Uh… Oh, this one's sooo hard.

**Rating:** PG- PG13, kinda inbetween.

**A/N:** Basically, I had a thought. So far, all I've seen is a lot about Trinitys' past, maybe a bit about Morpheus, but very little of Neo's past. C'mon people, surely the Matrix isn't the only reason he's living alone with no family of friends? And this was the result of said thought.

**He'll Hunt Me Down**

The agents were gaining on them. Neo glanced over his shoulder as he ran, causing him to stumble, a move costing him precious seconds. He glanced at Trinity, running beside him. He was amazed she could even keep up with him, his newly found One-ness technically making him faster. One look into her eyes and he saw the answer written there. Inside, was determination, a sheer determination to NOT die, mixed with, was it fear? Neo had rarely seen fear in Trinity, though he was glad he did. It wasn't healthy to keep that many emotions locked up.

The agents had been chasing them the two rebels through New York for at least four blocks now. Outside the Matrix, sentinels were approaching the ship. If they ran fast enough, maybe they could get to the exit before the EMP had to be used. Just another turn now…

Neo froze.

***

Trinity skidded to a halt as beside her, her lover froze. She watched him. His eyes were staring straight ahead, his body tense.

"Neo? What's wrong? We need to get out." Trinity's tone was gentle, filled with worry, yet still commanding, still business-like. She glanced ahead at whatever Neo was scared of, whatever made him freeze, in a way no agent could. All she saw was a man. Sure, a big, tough scary man, but still just a man. A man who Neo shouldn't have been scared of.

Glancing back at Neo, Trinity saw his hands clenching into fists. Then she remembered the sentinels.

"Neo, the sentinels. We need to get out."

**BANG!**

Three heads turned at the sound of the gun being fired

Three heads saw the agents stood behind them.

Two ran towards the exit.

***

Neo felt the familiar sensation of the plug being pulled out of his head and Trinity's hand on his shoulder. Almost as soon as the plug was out, he felt the EMP wash over them, Trinity was knocked from her feet, landing hard on the cold floor of the ship, a "fuck" sounding as the quick pain shot through her body. Morpheus and Link were praising each other somewhere further into the ship, their footsteps echoing loudly as they walked towards Neo and Trinity.

Neo barely heard any of it.

Slowly, he raised himself from the plug-in chair, the surroundings suddenly cold, hard and unfamiliar. Trinity's voice was distant as she rose from the floor. Thought's swirled in a whirlwind around Neo's head. _'He's alive. He's out. He'll come for me; he'll hunt me down. Shit.'_

"Neo?" The thoughts disappeared at Trinity's worry filled voice. Shaking his head, Neo looked around. Morpheus and Link now stood in the doorway, watching as Trinity frowned and placed a hand on his arm.

"Neo, are you ok?"

Neo shook her hand away and got up.

"I need to go." He muttered quietly, hurrying from the room.

Trinity was left to stand, hurt. Watching his retreating back, all she could do was worry, an unfamiliar feeling for the warrior woman.

**A/N:** Short chappie to start, which may be changed in the future, but this is it for now. Hope you like, I'll update when I get some reviews!!!


	2. Say You're Here

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, couldn't handle the pressure

**A/N: **Just gotta say, this is one of my fav stories that I've written, so I'm glad you're enjoying it too. Responses to reviews are at the bottem. This is mainly two flashbacks, and then I'm hoping to have the last chappie with one last flashback and something like a conclusion. I meant to update this a few days ago, but the next update will be slower, cuz I need to tweak the chappie, and also I've got a friend who went to Singapore coming to visit (and two of my friends have made matters v v complicated). Here goes.

**Say You're Here**

Neo sat on the bed, alone. Thoughts of worry still filling his head, though now a new thought had joined the others. _'Why did I push Trin away? I need her'_ He did need her. He loved her. He couldn't do it alone.

***

Outside the room, Trinity stood, her hand raised, ready to knock. Then it dropped. She wasn't sure if she could do this, be there for him. She wanted too, wanted to be there for him, to help- but what if she couldn't? What if she hadn't changed enough from the cold, harsh solider she was before. Neo had changed her, created a crack in her armour, but only enough for her to let him in. What if that wasn't enough?

            The thoughts flew around her head as she stood outside their room. Hearing a slight whimper from inside, Trinity threw her fears out of the window. If Neo was upset, she would be there. If he cried, she'd wipe away all of his tears, and if he screamed, she'd fight away all of his fears. She was Trinity; she didn't get scared.

            She knocked softly

"Neo?"

A pause. Then, quietly, the door creaked open to reveal Neo leaning against the doorframe.

"Hey."

"Are you ok?" She had never seen the point in small talk, always straight to the point.

"I'm fine."

"What happened back there, in the Matrix?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Neo, you have to. I need to know what's wrong. I can't help you if I don't know."

"Well maybe I don't need any help." His eyes flashed with quiet anger, and for the first time Trinity noticed the redness around his them. He'd been crying.

"Neo, you can't do this alone. It'll consume you. I know."

"I don't need your sympathy, Trin. It's no big deal."

"If it's 'no big deal' like you say, why were you crying?" Neo's gaze flicked to the floor while Trinity continued. "I spent a long time on my own, Neo, I thought I could handle everything- my past, my family, me. But I couldn't. I needed someone. You showed me that. So let me help you." Slowly, Neo stepped back, allowing Trinity to enter the room.

"Thank-you."

            Carefully, she took him by the hand and led him to the bed, waiting for him to speak. When he just stared at his hands, one still connected with hers, Trinity decided to talk first.

"Who was he?"

There was a long pause.

"My step-dad."

"Why did you freeze?" her voice was gentle, caring, far from the stoic Trinity he knew outside.

"I just- did" There was a pause before Neo spoke again.

"When I was younger, m- my dad was like my best friend." He stopped, gathering his thoughts. Trinity gripped his hand, noting his unusual stutter.

"I wasn't exactly the most social butterfly. We used to play Monopoly together all the time- I loved that game." he smiled grimly at the memory.

"Then, when I was seven, he, he died. There was a car crash on his way back from work. I saw him in hospital- he looked horrible." Trinity squeezed his hand again to reassure him she was still there as his eyes filled with tears and he stared at something nobody else could see.

~*~

_Thomas pushed open the hospital door slowly. Inside lay his father, hooked up to dozens of machines, all bleeping and showing blue lines._

_            As he sat down at his fathers side, Thomas realised he was shaking. Covering his father's hand with his own, smaller, seven year old hands, he surveyed the damage, through all- seeing eyes. Cuts covering his face had already been stitched up. There wasn't much blood on his skin, but his hair was caked with the stuff. Ignoring the inner turmoil at seeing his father like this, the young boy tried to speak to him._

_"Hello Daddy. How are you? Mommy said you might be in here a while. Are you going to be ok? Daddy?"_

_Thomas looked again at his Dad. As if in reply to his question, his body seemed to spasm- his whole body moving, as if wrestling something in his sleep. Rising quickly from his chair, Thomas backed away from the bed as nurses poured into the room. One quickly hurried Thomas from the room._

~*~

"He died officially three days later. I missed most of the funeral. Had to be taken out 'cause I didn't understand why he was gone- couldn't accept it. Then, when I was nine, my mum remarried. Vince. I hated him. I felt like mum was betraying dad's memory in some way. I guess it was all right at first. Anna, my stepsister was really nice."

"In the Matrix- that was Vince?" Neo nodded, not looking at Trinity.

"Everything went wrong eventually. Vince got really angry with mum and hit her. And he hit me. Anna told me what he used to do to her- what he used to be like- before he met mum. He used to beat her." He looked at her then, wondering if she understood the full meaning of her words.

~*~

_Anna slowly pulled up her sleeve. Thomas leaned forward to look. What he saw there made him gasp. Her whole arm, from the elbow, was covered in bruises and cuts. As he stared at them, trying to comprehend, Anna broke the silence._

_"It started when I was nine, like you."_

_"What happened?"_

_"I guess he just got angry. He drank a lot, and one time it just went too far. He stopped when he met your mum. I thought he'd changed, but I guess he was just pretending. As was I."_

_"Do you think he'll start again?"_

_"I don't know." Her eyes focused "But you can't let him get to you. You can't give up. Ever"_

_"I won't."_

_"Tom, I swear, it was hell living with him. If he starts again, I'll run away for sure. And if dad finds out I told you- he'll kill me."_

_"He'll never find out, we'll make it. Promise."_

_"That's good to know."_

~*~

**A/N:** There, hope you liked. Please review, I'll update quicker it you do!!!

Responses 

Shadow 2207- Thanks for the review, hope you like what I've done with it, and given a good explanation for most things!

Thereisnobrain- I love your name! It is sooo cool! Sorry, had to say that. Supposedly the man got shot, though I wasn't planning on revealing that, as it wasn't serious, and he won't die from it, so it was mainly just for my info. Hope you don't explode, cuz well, general badness when you start having people explode. Did anybody else see that ep of Buffy when she screamed and those guys heads exploded and all that green stuff came out? So cool.

Divamercury- Glad you like. I liked the bit about Trinity falling! I basically needed some background stuff, and even if it seemed OOC, the point was that Neo barely noticed. But, yay! I've got someone hooked! It is so cool to hear that!

Starlight623- Thanks for the review, hope you liked this chappie.

Angel-Of-Lightness- Hey, thanks for the review. Do I get put in prison for crimes against humanity? And if I update often, you've got to too!

Teresa- Thanks, good to know you 'likey'! Cool word.

Annonymous- Thanks for the review.


	3. Hello

**Hello**

"She started to stick up for me, and I trusted her. The first person I trusted in four years. I thought we'd make it. I thought maybe if she were there to protect me everything would be ok. We'd see the other side. But then he found out she told me. God Trin, it was horrible." He looked away again, unable to stop the pain breaking through his voice. Trinity laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want too. I'll understand."

"No. You need to hear this. I need to tell you." She nodded.

~*~

_"Anna, come in here a sec. Jane, Tom, you two go on ahead, we won't be long." The three at the door turned at the sound of Vince's voice. They were all scared of him now._

_            Before she left, Anna turned to look Thomas in the eye. They both knew what was happening. He had found out. So this was goodbye._

_            Gently, she laid a hand on his shoulder, and he knew what she wanted to say._

'I'm sorry. Keep it up. Keep going.'

_He nodded gently, before her father took her in a tight grip. His mother quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the door. He looked back longingly as they scrambled into the car. His one friend was walking willingly towards her death, and he was too scared to stop it. He wouldn't be there to hear her empty screams. She wouldn't cry._

~*~

After that, things were different. If he wanted us to do something, we did it, or we died. Sometimes I considered just not doing it, and then hoping he killed me quick." He voice had become cold, emotionless.

"God, Neo, that's horrible." Her words were filled with shock as she tried to gain an understanding of his past life.

"What did he ask for?"

"Stuff." He shrugged. 

"Alcohol mostly. He always blamed the drink when he hit us. Mum always forgave him. She said she did anyway. I think she was just scared, like I was."

"What happened to him?"

"He was picked up for rape. Some girl he found in a club. It all came out in court. Mum told them the whole story. I tried to stop her. It was too late anyway, for both of us. Mum turned to drink as well. I tried to help Trin, I swear, I did." He turned to Trinity, his voice filled with guilt, his face wet with tears. Softly, she pulled him down to lean against her shoulder, kissing him and the top of his head.  As he finally calmed down, he spoke again, his words quieter, echoing round the metallic room.

"She went into to hospital when I was fifteen. They tried to take me into care but I didn't like the lady who ran the place. She hated me. I ran eventually, couldn't take anymore of their shit. I was so scared Trin, but I had to get away." He looked up at her. 

"I had too. I never fit in wherever I went. I guess now I know why." He laughed coldly.

"Eventually I found a place I could stay where they liked me. I got a place at University, studying Computers. I guess you know the rest." She smiled into his hair.

"Why didn't you tell me Neo? I could have helped."

He shook his head.

"No, you couldn't. I don't think anybody could. I thought it was all in the past, behind me. Figured I'd never have to think about it again. He was in there for life. What's he doing out?"

"I don't know Neo, but you have to stop thinking about him. You're the One. The saviour of the human race. You can fight agents and fly. What can he do Neo? Nothing. Sure, he's big and tough and scary looking, but he's not you. He's not special like you are."

"But he still has power over me, he still scares me. You saw what happened back there. It could happen again."

"No, Neo. It won't. Because I will always be at your side, I will never leave. I will always be right there to support you; I won't let him stop you. Ok?" He nodded silently, unconvinced.

"Please, Neo. Believe me."

"I do." He looked at her, complete belief written all over his face. He would believe her, and stay with her and love her till the end of his days, and they both knew it. Kissing him softly on the top of his head, Trinity said,

"C'mon Neo, get some sleep. We've got another few hours before your next shift."

He nodded again and lay down next to her, taking her up in his arms, holding her close.

As Trinity quickly drifted off to sleep, a single thought crossed his mind before Neo closed his eyes and held Trinity close.

_'I made it Anna, I really did'_

**Fin.**

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****

~*~

**A/N:** Wow, so sorry it took so long! It was mostly ready, but there was one part that wouldn't de-corny-fy itself! I think it's done now though. Thanks for all the reviews, I think that's the most I've ever got for one chappie. Except Sure As Hell, but that's just cuz I'm not gonna update that one till I've done Conclusions. So here are all your thanks…

**Angel-of-Lightness-** Heya! Thank you! Didn't they lock up that guy who wrote the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? They only had so much studio time and they had the idea but no script, so they all locked him up with a pen and paper and that's why it's so weird. I have no idea who 'they all' are though. Could I have Mini Cheddars instead of crackers? Or Rich Tea Biscuits? I love Rich Tea Biscuits (as my dear friend who keeps me fed with them well knows). Hope you didn't die. That so wouldn't be good…

**thedepressionofeeyore**** –** I love your name! You check like every four hours? Wow, that's majorly cool. Thanks for the review, hope you like this.

**Divamercury****-** Your hooked! Yay! I made someone hooked! Go me and all that. Continuing…

**Trinity on the run-** I inspire you? Ok, that's freaky. Honestly, I don't think I write that well, I have a lot of problems with characterisation, but y'know, if that's what you think, I ain't got no problem with it…

**la**** la la la la la la PLOP- **S***, F***, B*****, uhhhh, can't think of any others right now. Bollocks, (and that would be the point when you stopped filling in my blank mind on msn!). I am so v soz that Neo swore, but it was all to keep him in character. Of course I wouldn't swear in real life…

**Starlight623-** Happens to me all the time, so very annoying! Yeah Vince is creepy. I actually got his name from a guy I know who does panto, (and me and my friend nicknamed 'the park bench'), and he *really* wasn't pleased to hear I'd named an evil scary guy after him!

**tiggerriffic**** Jo- **Yeah, Jo, you just read it cuz your ma mate! I know you!

**thereisnobrain****-** Evil army of demented bunny rabbits? Wow, sounds scary. Hope you understand this, if there's anything you don't get, do tell and thou shalt answer.

--

All constructed criticism welcome, though no flames. But I do enjoy answering flames, but this is the last chappie so I won't be able to. Ah well, hope you liked. Cookies for all reviewers (choc chip!). Must go, by hot chocolate awaits!


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